Thrustmaster Ferrari F430 review

It's wheely good, honest

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Our Verdict

A well thought out product with cool features at an affordable price, especially when compared to the competition

For

Manettino dial

True force feedback

Against

Flimsy feeling desk clamp

Modelled on the cockpit of a – wait for it – Ferrari F430, Thrustmaster's latest wheel is incredibly well built.

The actual desk clamp has a slightly flimsy feel to it, but all the control rods, gear shifts and pedals are finished in lovely metal, and there's also the solid feeling buttons dotted around the centre of the wheel.

On-the-fly

These – and the four more on the body – are all fully programmable too. Our favourite control – three words we never thought we'd see together – is a switch which is designed to quickly flick through car settings while in-race.

Dubbed the 'Manettino' after a similar dial in real life Ferraris, it has five settings plus a push button that can either change the level of driver assistance you receive or fine tune the car configuration for things like traction control and rear axle differentials.

Want to tighten your suspension for the next lap? Just turn the dial to the left. Need help with cornering? Flick it to the right.

The included drivers come with pre-configured profiles for some games, and are, of course, programmable for others. Best of all, though, is the proper, wheel-locking force feedback, just like we used to have in the days before consoles with USB ports.

And not forgetting that you get all of this for under £80. Step aside Lewis Hamilton, I think we have a real winner here.